Frank Bruni, New York Times: America the Shrunken - "More and more I get the sense that we've lost it, and by 'it' I mean the optimism that was always the lifeblood of this luminous experiment, the ambition that has been its foundation, the swagger that made us so envied and emulated and reviled." (It does not occur to Zippy the cub reporter that such American "we" characteristics were largely European-American and will not be magically carried forward by their Hispanic, African, Muslim and Asian demographic replacements.)

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America the Shrunken

NOT long ago I asked a good friend of mine — one of the smartest men I know, and one of the most devoted dads — if he thought that his children would live in a more prosperous America or at least enjoy the same bounty of opportunities that we had.

His response was instant and unequivocal. No.

“How do you make peace with that?” I said.

He shrugged, laughed bitterly and answered, “I’m hoping to leave them a lot of money.”

The American dream, 2014 edition: Squirrel away nuts for a leaner tomorrow. The worst is yet to come, so insure yourself against it if you’re among the lucky few who can.

I was reminded of my conversation with him when I read last week about a fresh projection, from a branch of the World Bank, that the Chinese economy might overtake ours by the end of this year, finishing our century-plus reign as the world’s wealthiest nation. What a run we had! It was great while it lasted.

And it will probably last much longer than another few months. The projection relied on disputed arithmetic. These matters aren’t neat and clean.


But our slide to No. 2 nonetheless seems inevitable, so much so that most Americans think it has already happened. For the last six years, when the Gallup Poll asked them which country was the world’s “leading economic power,” more answered China than said the United States. This year, the spread was an astonishing 52 to 31 percent. Fewer than one in three Americans puts us on top, even though we actually remain there. . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/04/opinion/sunday/bruni-america-the-shrunken.html?emc=eta1&_r=1


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